Percussion and digital narratives as pedagogical mediation for interreligious dialogue in upper secondary education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62305/alcon.v6i5.1309Keywords:
complex thinking; digital storytelling; intercultural education; religious diversity; rhythmic practiceAbstract
Religious diversity and persistent stereotypes pose challenges for intercultural education. This study aimed to analyse understandings related to interreligious tolerance and complex thinking expressed during a teaching strategy combining digital narratives and rhythmic practice in upper secondary education. Qualitative pedagogical action research was conducted with 22 students aged 15–17 in the second year of Bachillerato at a private school in Quito, Ecuador. The intervention comprised seven 60-minute sessions combining body and instrumental percussion with teacher-designed digital narratives about the Abrahamic traditions. Initial and final questionnaires and field records underwent categorical content analysis, comparing the whole group and five matched cases. The frequency of relational explanations across musical, cultural or religious dimensions increased from 3 to 16 students, while responses nuancing stereotypes about Islam and Arab identity increased from 2 to 17. However, 6 students expressed stereotypes at the end, and one matched case showed a regression. The experience provides indications of more elaborated discourse about religious diversity and emerging conceptual connections. Its short duration, lack of a comparison group, limited individual traceability and the wording of some questions prevent causal attribution or claims of lasting attitudinal change.
Downloads
References
Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Addison-Wesley.
Amador-Baquiro, J. C. (2018). Educación interactiva a través de narrativas transmedia: Posibilidades en la escuela. Magis, Revista Internacional de Investigación en Educación, 10(21), 77–94. https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.m10-21.eint
Amichai-Hamburger, Y., Hasler, B. S., & Shani-Sherman, T. (2015). Structured and unstructured intergroup contact in the digital age. Computers in Human Behavior, 52, 515–522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.02.022
Amzalag, M., & Shapira, N. (2021). Improving intergroup relations through online contact. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 22(1), 111–134. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v22i1.5098
Asamblea Constituyente. (2008). Constitución de la República del Ecuador. Registro Oficial 449, 20 de octubre de 2008.
Berbel-Gómez, N., Lopes, E., & Díaz-Gómez, M. (2021). Connecting networks through percussion: Rhythm as an inclusive practice in socio-educational projects. Música Hodie, 21, e69364. https://doi.org/10.5216/mh.v21.69364
Camlin, D. A., Daffern, H., & Zeserson, K. (2020). Group singing as a resource for the development of a healthy public: A study of adult group singing. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 7, 60. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-00549-0
Carabetta, S., & González, J. V. (2017). Reflexiones para la construcción de una educación musical intercultural: Cuando lo pedagógico y lo epistemológico se desencuentran. Revista Internacional de Educación Musical, 5, 119–127. https://doi.org/10.12967/RIEM-2017-5-p119-127
Clarke, E., DeNora, T., & Vuoskoski, J. (2015). Music, empathy and cultural understanding. Physics of Life Reviews, 15, 61–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plrev.2015.09.001
Do, T. T. M., & Phan, Q. T. V. (2026). Growing empathy to foster intercultural competence through digital storytelling: Insights from an Intercultural Communication course in Vietnam. Intercultural Education, 37(4), 533–553. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2025.2594385
Hernández-Sampieri, R., & Mendoza, C. P. (2018). Metodología de la investigación: Las rutas cuantitativa, cualitativa y mixta. McGraw Hill.
Imperato, C., Schneider, B. H., Caricati, L., Amichai-Hamburger, Y., & Mancini, T. (2021). Allport meets internet: A meta-analytical investigation of online intergroup contact and prejudice reduction. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 81, 131–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2021.01.006
Jackson, R. (1997). Religious education: An interpretive approach. Hodder & Stoughton.
Jackson, R. (2014). Signposts: Policy and practice for teaching about religions and non-religious world views in intercultural education. Council of Europe Publishing. https://theewc.org/content/uploads/2020/02/00Signposts-Web-16X24_web-PDF-TEXT-FINAL.pdf
Kirschner, S., & Tomasello, M. (2010). Joint music making promotes prosocial behavior in 4-year-old children. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31(5), 354–364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.04.004
Lambert, J. (2013). Digital storytelling: Capturing lives, creating community (4th ed.). Routledge.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage.
Martínez-Sánchez, A. de las M., & Esteban Moreno, R. M. (2023). Historias de vida y narrativas digitales: Una experiencia de educación intercultural para la formación del profesorado. Revista Brasileira de Educação, 28, e280097. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-24782023280097
Mestra Morgan, O. E. (2025). Lineamientos pedagógicos para la ejecución de programa de prácticas musicales para el mejoramiento de la convivencia escolar en Montería, Colombia. Ciencia Latina Revista Científica Multidisciplinar, 9(4), 10759–10772. https://doi.org/10.37811/cl_rcm.v9i4.19628
Mestra Morgan, O. E. (2026). La práctica musical como mediación pedagógica para el desarrollo socioemocional, la formación del carácter y la convivencia escolar: Un análisis narrativo-temático de la literatura reciente. Revista Latinoamericana de Calidad Educativa, 3(1), 176–187. https://doi.org/10.70625/rlce/521
Morin, E. (1999). Los siete saberes necesarios para la educación del futuro. UNESCO.
OSCE/ODIHR. (2007). Toledo guiding principles on teaching about religions and beliefs in public schools. OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/c/e/29154.pdf
Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(5), 751–783. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.5.751
Rabinowitch, T.-C., Cross, I., & Burnard, P. (2013). Long-term musical group interaction has a positive influence on empathy in children. Psychology of Music, 41(4), 484–498. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735612440609
Rizvic, S., Okanovic, V., & Boskovic, D. (2020). Digital storytelling. En F. Liarokapis, A. Voulodimos, N. Doulamis, & A. Doulamis (Eds.), Visual computing for cultural heritage (pp. 347–367). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37191-3_18
Robin, B. R. (2006). The educational uses of digital storytelling. En C. Crawford, R. Carlsen, K. McFerrin, J. Price, R. Weber, & D. Willis (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2006 (pp. 709–716). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/22129/
Rodríguez Gómez, G., Gil Flores, J., & García Jiménez, E. (1996). Metodología de la investigación cualitativa. Aljibe.
Westerlund, H., Karlsen, S., Kallio, A. A., Treacy, D. S., Miettinen, L., Timonen, V., Gluschankof, C., Ehrlich, A., & Shah, I. B. (2022). Visions for intercultural music teacher education in complex societies. Research Studies in Music Education, 44(2), 293–312. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X211032490
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Scientific Journal of Educational Innovation and Current Society "ALCON". ISSN 2960-8473
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
